Speaking Points
John Carmichael, Member of Parliament for Don Valley West
Toronto, Ontario
April 10, 2015
Check against delivery
Hello. Ladies and gentlemen, thank you all for joining us here today in Sunnybrook's Centre for Research in Image-Guided Therapeutics.
It's my pleasure to be here to deliver some great news for Canadians.
As one of the largest research centres in Canada, Sunnybrook has fostered a number of medical breakthroughs, and houses hundreds of scientists and researchers.
I was lucky enough to be here last July to see some important projects that are helping to save lives. For example, the development of catheter technology that allows medical professionals to look at real-time, 3D images of a patient's heart and blood vessels. These projects were supported through an investment of nearly $7 million from our Government.
And it is the type of impressive work happening here that is a big part of what will help our country succeed in today's competitive global economy.
Jobs, growth and prosperity remain top priorities for our Government and we are dedicated to making our economy stronger.
Today, I'm pleased to announce a new investment for the region.
The Harper Government is contributing up to $20 million to a new partnership led by the Sunnybrook Research Institute focused on expanding the image-guided therapy cluster in the region.
This contribution is through FedDev Ontario's Investing in Commercialization Partnerships initiative. This initiative is designed to support partnerships that turn discovery and innovation into commercially successful businesses — which ultimately leads to more jobs and opportunities for Canadians.
What does this project mean?
It means partners will work together and draw upon each other's strengths to design, construct and test new technologies. These new technologies will deliver treatment to patients less invasively and more effectively.
Sunnybrook will work with academic partners, including these prominent academic institutions: Western University, Ryerson University, University of Toronto and Queen's University.
Up to 28 companies will also contribute to this project, ranging in size and based in Canada, the United States and even Europe.
It is also anticipated that the partnership will create 165 new full-time jobs over the course of the project and maintain 94.
I know you'll agree that is great news for southern Ontario.
But the benefits of these technologies will extend beyond our borders, as image-guided therapy technologies are developed and exported to improve treatment of cancer, cardiac and spinal patients the world-over.
So I'd like to congratulate all of the partners involved in this project. I look forward to seeing these revolutionary technologies take shape.
Thank you.
